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AVGAS in the Azores

I’m planning a trip, and I could have sworn that last time I checked the AIP Santa Maria LPAZ listed AVGAS as being available. Checking today, only jet fuel is listed.

Perhaps I was imagining things.

Does anyone know if AVGAS can be sourced in the Azores these days?

Kent, UK

Unfortunately there is no Avgas in LPAZ anymore ☹️ The route via the Azores is not feasible anymore for piston aircraft.

EDFM (Mannheim), Germany

terbang wrote:

Unfortunately there is no Avgas in LPAZ anymore ☹️ The route via the Azores is not feasible anymore for piston aircraft.

terbang, I presume barrels-only, shipped prior to flight?

EGTR, United Kingdom

I presume barrels-only, shipped prior to flight?

I don’t know whether drums can be arranged or not. I‘ve just been told by a ferry pilot friend that the Avgas bowser in Santa Maria is gone.

EDFM (Mannheim), Germany

I asked the handlers in LPAZ today about having barrels of 100LL shipped, and their response was “Dear Ross, the decision was made to permanently end Avgas in the Azores.”

I’m investigating whether they’d be open to receiving a couple of barrels of G100UL, or alternatively the possibility of bringing in mogas from a petrol station as I can burn that.

Kent, UK

Mogas in a 182R? Is it modded in some way?

Anyway, their reply does not seem to say they will not accept to handle some shipped-in Avgas, just that they don‘t themselves sell it anymore. Which is a real pity btw, for certain missions across the Atlantic.

Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

FWIW, I would not recommend the Azores route in a light aircraft. It has very long legs, with no alternates, for marginal gain. Just take the far north route of EGPC – BIRK – BGSF – CYFB. AvGas normally available everywhere, short legs, better VHF coverage, and more alternates. A no brainer from a safety perspective.

@mike_miller agree but IIRC back in the day, when there was a lot of piston GA ferry flights, during the icing season a lot of pilots used St John’s – Sta Maria?

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

RobertL18C wrote:

@mike_miller agree but IIRC back in the day, when there was a lot of piston GA ferry flights, during the icing season a lot of pilots used St John’s – Sta Maria?

Ferry pilots do a lot of crazy things :)

If it were me, I’d take the far north route, and plan around VFR weather. With modern weather models, it’s very easy to see what the weather will be like. All you need is patience (potentially 2-3 weeks of it each way)!

Also, one good thing about icing season is that there is usually (assuming no convection or frontal activity) no ice below -20C. So going far north can have some advantages.

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